Review: Hello to HelloFresh Canada!

HelloFresh delivers “cook from scratch” meal plans straight to your door, with carefully curated, easy to follow recipes and locally sourced fresh ingredients in just the right quantities. HelloFresh helps reduce wasted leftovers and takes care of the meal planning, shopping, measuring and delivering, leaving time for you to do the fun part: cooking.

FAST FACTS

HelloFresh provides you with all you need for a healthy, well-balanced and nutritious diet.

HelloFresh’s trusted partners supply us with the best quality ingredients and HelloFresh’s dedicated team of nutritionists and chefs create the inspirational recipes.

Freshness comes first. Boxes are sent to the customer within 24 hours of being packaged in the state of the art boxes, and HelloFresh ensures ingredients remain cool and fresh.

HelloFresh creates amazing recipes. Each week their chefs create amazing recipes for you that are easy to prepare. HelloFresh meals are interesting yet simple.

HelloFresh does the shopping for you Go home and kick your feet up – HelloFresh has got you covered! From creating the recipes and planning the meals, to grocery shopping and even delivering recipes and all of the pre- measured ingredients right to your door!

Free delivery! HelloFresh delivers everything straight to your door, so you can spend more time on the important things in life.

You prepare delicious meals in your own home. Quick and easy recipes, that don’t require any fancy equipment or techniques. HelloFresh’s mission is to help you get nutritious and delicious meals on the table.

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HELLOFRESH?

Are you a subscription service? Yes, we run a flexible subscription service where you can change or amend your order if you want to take a break. Just let us know by the 11:59 p.m. EST on Wednesday before the following week’s delivery (Tuesday-Wednesday), so we can let our fresh suppliers know.

Can I put my subscription on pause? Definitely. If you’re traveling or would like to hold your subscription for any reason, simply log into your account and manage your subscription right there. Or email us at hello@hellofresh.ca and we will take care of it for you! Just make sure that you make these changes prior to Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. EST for the following week’s Tuesday-Wednesday delivery.

How much will I be charged each week?

Meal Pronto Box for Two – $79.99

3 Meal Pronto Box for Four – $139.99

3 Meal Family Box for Four – $129.99 – I chose this box. It was enough food to make my lunch and dinners for the work week and the variety was perfect.

PLANS

Can I choose my meals? Unfortunately we cannot offer this right now, but we are working hard to offer you this service in the future.

Do you offer vegetarian plans? We are focusing on other products at the moment but will consider offering vegetarian boxes in the future.

Do you offer plans for people with special dietary requirements? While we don’t offer specific dietary plans, because our ingredients are delivered to you in separate packets, if you have any specific dislikes you can simply omit or replace these ingredients from a recipe.

DELIVERY

Where do you deliver? We deliver across southern, central and eastern Ontario, as well as the “near north”. We’re actively working on expanding our delivery areas and are updating our website regularly, so if you’re not in our delivery area today, please check back soon!

When do you deliver? We deliver on Tuesday and Wednesday of each week. Deliveries typically arrive between 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

What if I am not home to accept delivery? If you are not home during delivery, our courier will drop the box off at your front door (or wherever you specify in your delivery instructions when ordering). If you live in an area where a box cannot easily be left, we suggest one of the following solutions:  Provide the address of a helpful neighbour that will be home during the delivery window and can accept your package for you. If you live in an apartment building or condominium, ask your concierge to receive the box for you, or give buzzer instructions to the courier via the delivery instructions to leave the box safely inside the building lobby or hallway.

How much does delivery cost? Delivery is free!

THE FOOD

Where do you get your recipes? HelloFresh works closely on recipe development with a team of in-house chefs. Our dietitians ensure you get a balanced meal on the table. Our Head of Culinary, Irene Ngo, is responsible for bringing easy, delicious and healthy recipes to Canadian families and homes, and is always inspired by food and flavours wherever she goes!

Why is HelloFresh a healthy option? Cooking with fresh ingredients helps you stay healthy and beats any type of convenience food, frozen food or fast food. By preparing your meals with fresh ingredients you ensure that important nutrients aren’t lost. Since our chefs and nutritionists create and select recipes on a weekly basis, they are able to ensure that your diet is balanced and provides all the nutrients you need for a healthy lifestyle. How many calories do your meals have? Roughly speaking, our meals contain anywhere from 500-800 calories each. Which ingredients do you assume I have at home? All you need to have available at home is salt, pepper, sugar, a good cooking oil, and butter. We’ll give you the rest!

WHAT DID I LOVE ABOUT THE 3 MEAL FAMILY BOX FOR FOUR?

I love to cook – so I know the amount of time, money and prep it takes to put healthy meals in my mouth for the week. HelloFresh took the work out of that part of my week away for me. This allowed me to have fun especially when my work week is so intense.

I like to make my meals for my work week in bulk. I prepare my lunches and dinners in advance on Saturday night and pop them into Tupperware containers. So, when I am running out of the house in the morning – I just grab my meals and go.

When I cooked my yummy HelloFresh meals this weekend, my life was made so much easier just knowing I didn’t have to lug all of my groceries home with my on Friday night. I was also guaranteed fresh, delicious and a variety of foods so I didn’t get bored during my work week and then result to buying extra ‘junky’ food on my breaks at work.

Preparing the meals was even more of a love fest! The ingredients came pre-packaged and some even precut. I just needed to cut open bags, wash and do some light cutting. I then popped the oven or stove on and got cooking. I had some music on in the background and sipped my wine throughout the meal prep. What more does a single condo living girl need?!

The meal ingredients were lovingly packed. They came in an insulated box with six ice packs at the bottom of the box to keep my meats and vegetables cool. I loved opening my box and seeing that all of the ingredients were impeccable and pristine.

The produce was Grade A in quality. The shrimp were bigger than a lime in size. They were juicy, aromatic and fresh. The chicken and pork from Artisan Farms was Responsible and Sustainable. Again, gorgeous in quality and an easy cook and serve.

I marvelled at the precut sweet potatoes that were delivered to me that I tossed in Dukkah spice and cooked in just under 30 minutes. My condo was filled with its sweet essence. It took everything out of me to not have a heaping bowl of it as a snack as I cooked my HelloFresh meals.

Think gourmet meals made simple with easy to read recipe cards by your side and photographs to give you a little extra boost.

The meals were made in the time listed on the menu cards. They were heaping and hot. Delicious and savoury. I happily had a plate of the Dukkah-Roasted Chicken with Sweet Potatoes, Snap Peas and Citrus Sour Cream for lunch and Sesame Shrimp with Ginger Green Onion Rice and Crispy Green Beans for dinner. I then popped the left overs into my Tupperware containers and stored them in my refrigerator. Next week I am making the Pan-Seared Pork Chops with Onion Gravy, Broccolini and Buttery Mashed Potatoes.

I am now a HelloFresh convert! I’m already looking forward to next weekend and what I can prepare for my family and friends when they come over to visit.